Whispers have intensified in recent weeks, painting a clear picture of shifting dynamics inside Halas Hall. First, Sport Mockery’s Jeff Hughes and then Tyler Dunne of Go Long reported that Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson appears to have more personnel power than people realize. Ryan Poles is still the general manager, and the team hasn’t indicated he’s lost the final say on roster decisions. However, the evidence and indications behind the scenes are that Johnson is now calling the shots.
That was reinforced this week. A source informed SM that Poles delivered a new directive to his scouts as the college evaluations continue. They are to focus heavily on three position groups: offensive tackles, edge rushers, and running backs. Other positions will be scouted, but those three are a priority. While Poles was the one to deliver the message, many in the building believe the directive came from Johnson. The head coach isn’t happy with the state of those positions and fully intends to attack them next spring.
Ben Johnson doing this shouldn’t be a surprise.
Just look at what happened in the opener against Minnesota. Braxton Jones allowed six quarterback pressures at left tackle. D’Andre Swift averaged 3.1 yards per carry at running back. Montez Sweat only had one pressure as their primary edge rusher. All three spots were crucial to the Bears’ loss. It doesn’t help that two of them are probably the two most important non-quarterback positions on the team. If you want to win in the NFL, you need good players at those spots. Even if Sweat plays better in the coming weeks, the team still needs more depth on the edge. Jones clearly isn’t 100% and may have already hit his ceiling. Swift isn’t a true workhorse back and is also a bad fit for this offense. Ben Johnson will want to bring in guys who fit his vision for the team. That mission is already underway.
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Ben’s scouts were told to focus on OL, Edge and RB? What a surprise. The problem: the best Edge and LT prospects could be gone by the time the Bears pick in Rd 1 unless they tank. If they have a Top 5 selection, getting a LT/Edge difference maker is plausible. If they pick at 15 or later, then RB is the way to go. Penn St NSingleton is the breakaway 3-down back they need. I’m a lifelong Irish fan but JLove was a disappointment vs Miami. Prospects who perform well against top competition are the guys to target. So,… Read more »
@Arnie Many people who are good at something, have huge egos. They think they are good at everything. To some extent, they may be. The problem is, as everyone rises higher in anything, what they do, becomes more nuanced, and they only have 24 hours each day. If coaches want to scout, assess thousands of potential players, and then coach them and call plays after scouting opposing teams every week, they need to put in the time. Any person at an elevated level needs to put in MORE time, rather than less. Johnson can identify areas of potential need after… Read more »
Nobody has “but their ceiling” yet. Justin Fields “hit a ceiling” playing for Getsy. Either you hire Chris Morgan (ceiling) or Dan Roushar (Pro Bowl). The OTAs and training camp is for teaching techniques. Live games are for implementing those techniques, getting experience with them, and defining them. These moronic casters and writers have all the time in the world to refine their “analysis” or “observations based on sources,” and all they do is diarrhea. Sean Payton was an asshole with Russell Wilson. He was crazy for losing with Bo Nix at the beginning of last year. I put Caleb… Read more »
@jmscooby Funny thing about Parcells. He won rings with the Giants, where a GM did the grocery shopping, and once he started shopping for himself, he never won another one, and only got to the big game once with all those teams. His protégé Bellichick did better, and since this is up in your neck of the woods (I think), his “teams” were much better 1-53 in the earlier years when he had a real front office, and later, he won mostly because of Brady and his skill building a defense, but once he was the king of everything, his… Read more »